Bryan Cranston won a lot of acclaim for playing a guy who tries not to be a drug kingpin but also totally wants to and becomes a drug kingpin. But now the Breaking Bad actor is going across the aisle, as it were, to get involved on the police side of the drug trade in his new film, The Infiltrator. It’s the true story of the FBI agents who went deep undercover in the ’80s to bring down cartel mucky-muck Pablo Escobar. You may have heard this story; it was the largest drug bust in history
Cranston looks like he’s in prime form as usual as Robert “Bob” Mazur, the real-life agent who spent years on the inside, getting closer and closer to the top of Escobar’s organization. As we’ve seen from dozens of good undercover cop/agent movies, the stress of being privy to such crimes and murders starts to wear on him. How does one come back from a life like that?
Diane Kruger plays rookie agent Kathy Ertz, who had to go undercover as Mazur’s fiancée, and John Leguizamo plays Emir Abreu, a tough and streetwise fellow agent. The three of them are the only people on the inside dealing with Escobar’s top lieutenant Roberto Alcaino, played by Benjamin Bratt. First of all, this is a brilliant cast. Second, those characters/real people had the best names in the history of names.
Drugs? Yep. Cranston? Yep. Ill-advised mustaches? You bet! What more do you need? We’re in!
The Infiltrator (emphasis on “traitor” we’re assuming), which co-stars Yul Vazquez, Joseph Gilgun, Olympia Dukakis, and Amy Ryan, will be in theaters July 15, just in time for the hottest part of the year.
Let us know your thoughts about Cranston, drug-fighter, in the comments below!
Image: Broad Green Pictures
Kyle Anderson is the associate editor for Nerdist, but also wishes his name were cool and not generic. Follow him on Twitter!
